The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-11-12
The publishing Ao1tse.
TWENTY FIFTH ANNIVERSARY.
TooNrrNuED FROM FIRST PAGE. |
ADDRESS BY DIR. GUNNIsoN.

ADDRESS BY DR.. GUNNISON.
The contributor who had been face
tiously alluded to as having eclipsed the
early fame of DR.. Emerson, as cor
respondent-R REV. DR.. ALMoN GUN
NIsoN, was called to the platform.
DR.. Gunnison, pleasantly abiding to the
kind introduction of DIR. Miner, said that it
was pleasant to be praised by those who are
themselves praised. He regretted that he
did not deserve what had been said of him.
The following in substance is his address,
We heard this afternoon, in the admirable
historical paper of DR.. Eddy, the aggregated
work of the Publishing House, during the
twenty-five years of its history-so many
books sold, 80 many hundred thousand dol
lars worth of business transacted, SO much
capital invested. These are the visible
forces of a quarter of a century's fruitful
work. And during the presentation of these
interesting facts my mind dwelt upon the
invisible forces, which during these eventful
years have made success which we cannot
record; the forces which have worked in and
through the books and papers published.
The force of ideas, new revelations and in
terpretations of truth, sermon printed
which has solved the problem of destiny and
justified the ways of God to men; a song per-
haps which has made music in a weary heart,
a psalm of comfort which has been as heal
ing to the bleeding soul; touch, perhaps, of
humor which has thrown ray of sunshine
upon weary path-all of these things and
many more besides, have come as minis
trants through this quarter of century's
work, and yet our clever historian has not
art enough to catalogue these elusive things.
How grand has been the work of our hon.
ored church in the time spanned by the years
which this anniversary commentaries =
schools founded, institutions reared, churches
planted, great funds secured. These things
have not easily come. They are the fruits
of sacrifices; and sacrifices are born of con-
victions; and convictions are the offspring of
ideas.
The preacher has perhaps planted the seed,
but the religious press has watered it, and
God has given the increase. Take out, if you
can, the influence of our literature from the
convictions of our people, and our institu-
tions would have been unreared, our churches
would have been implanted, yea, this great
yearning hope which is in the world-as yet
hardly articulate-would have been perhaps
unborn.
My mind, too, has been reverting to the
invisible creators of these ideas-to those
first whose pen has ceased its work. DR..
Adams, the man who because he was of the
people could reach the people either by voice
or pen-Mrs. Bingham, that rare writer, who
wrote by instinct and wrote with no little of
poets graoe-Dr. Thayer, who with crea-
tive power, could take the dry dust of the
ology, breathe upon it his inspiring spirit
and make it living soul-and Sumner Ellis,
the Christian gentleman, who enriched our
literature with a genuine literary grace and
power, and our ministry by a life that was
mightier than even the sermons which he
preached. How long is the roll of faithful
men and women, who, being dead, yet speak
to US in their written words which are yet re-
membered?
may not speak of the living writer's of the
books and periodicals issued by the Institu-
ton under whose auspices we are gathered;
their work, humble as it is, is wrought not
always with ease of effort. For the preacher,
there is the swift response of the kindIing
eye, the nameless sympathy that the heart
sends back to the living voice ere its echoes
die away; but the writer speaks to an invisi-
BILE audience he sends his arrow into the
darkness and it is lost in the vewless air.
You remember the story of Hawthorne. He
had written the Scarlet Letter, and took it out
to read to his faithful wife, only stipulating
that there should be no comment until the
entire reading was completed. The first
night ended, and he retired with sense of
complete self-depreciation. The second
night came, and when he had finished the
story, his wife tainted in his arms, and he
found that he had written an immortal book.
So it is ever; seldom does the writer ever
know that he has touched or blessed human
heart, for gratitude is slow of speech, and
seldom do we see face to face those whose
written words have blessed us; seldom, in
fact, do we know whose hand it is that has
brought benediction to our hearts.
But these things are of the past. This an
niversary marks not simply an ending, but
beginning-not simply retrospect but pros
pect. The past is secure-what is the future
to be? honor the institutions of our church,
our colleges and schools, mission work, our
increasing fund for general work. all good,
but tell you, my brethren, there is no college
within our borders, there are no ten pulpits in
our church, that have in them the possibilities
that are wrapped up in the institution whose
anniversary we keep tonight
I am not unmindful of the influence of the
pulpit; the time will never come when there
will be any successful rival of the magnetism
of the living voice; and so long as men have
souls when the orator speaks, men will listen,
obey, follow But the world is to be saved
quite as much in the future by the foolishness
Of the writing as by the fooishness of preach
ing. The press is to be the evangel as much as
the pulpit, and our literature to largely do the
work of the church if it is done at all. Tell
me, gentlemen, what is TO be the literature of
your church for the next quarter of a century,
and will tell you whether the fathers will be
rejoicing or lamenting twenty-five years from
tonight. If it is to be narrow, your church
will be narrow; If broad, generous, catholic,
inspired by the Christ spirit, graeed by schol-
arship, warmed with love, alert with intellect
ual and spiritual apprehension, such shall be
your church. What are to be the books that
shall bear the imprint of your house. what
shall be the character of your teaching of the
children who are to shape our church, these
are the prophecies of our future. Do not,
beseech you, fail to keep marching at the
front, to keep your ideals high, to be satisfied
with nothing less than the best. We have such
opportunity as was never given to church
before; men are hungering for our faith; they